The present invention relates to methods and apparatus for use of so-called “black box” data, obtained from an event data recorder in connection with analysis of a vehicular accident.
Today, numerous “black box” technologies exist to provide auto crash investigators, insurance companies and legal counsel with significant information regarding a car accident. These technologies include after-market solutions that may include GPS capabilities, video capture, and storage of crash data. These technologies also include OEM solutions. All of these “black box” solutions may be referred to as “event data recorder” or EDR technologies. For purposes of this disclosure, the terms EDR, “black box”, and CDR (“crash data retrieval”) will be used interchangeably.
Presently, black box data may be used by investigators, insurance companies, and others to help in the determination of the circumstances surrounding a vehicle accident. Typically, this data consists of pre-crash and post-crash information. The information may be used by an investigator or other interested party to aid in the analysis of the accident and aid the determination of cause therefore based on the information. However, there are limitations in the use of such data, and presently such data is only used by individuals having significant expertise in accident reconstruction. Further, black box data is not currently used in connection with other computer-based vehicular accident analysis tools.